Presser-foot for sewing-machines



(No Mootel.)

H. P. RICHARDS. PRESSER'FOOT POR SEWING MACHINES.

N0. 691,280'. Patented Mer.v 29,1898.

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HUBERT P. RICHARDS, NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT.

PREssER-FooTl-'OR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION formngpart of Letters Patent No. 601,280, dated March 29, 1898. l

Application led August 15, 1896. Serial No. 602,862. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HUBERT P. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Britain, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Presser-Feet for Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a speci- Iication.

p My invention is a presser-foot for sewingmachines; and the object thereof is the provision of a device of this character which will prevent the upward movement of the fabric (which is often of Varying thickness) as it is fed beneath the same and which will also hold the material firmly on the passage of the needle therethrough.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a presser-foot embodying a series of independent movable clamping or engaging means whereby varying thicknesses of fab- -ric can be simultaneously engaged and held against upward movement.

y In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, Figure-1 is a side elevation of my improved presser-foot, rep- Y resenting in sectional view the throat-plate of a sewing-machine with a piece of work in position, said view also illustrating the position of the needle and in dottedlines a part of a shuttle or loop-taker `of ordinary form.` Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the same, taken in line a a, Fig. l, and looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the invention with the presser-bar in section,taken in line c c, Fig. 1. side view of another form of the invention; and Fig. 5 is a plan View, partly in section, thereof.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

In the use of the ordinary presser-foot it has been found in practicev that when a piece of vfabric of varyin g thickness is fed beneath the same it has no clamping action'except on that part of the work having the greatest thickness, hence causing the puckering of the portion of said fabric which the foot does not engage, and consequently resulting in the'l irregular feeding of the material. Furthermore, in that class of machines in which it is necessary to forma loop of the thread and in f which the fabric must remain immovable for l the fabric is sufficient to carry the same upward, thus preventing the proper formation of a loop. In order to obviate this difficulty and disadvantage in sewing-machine presserfeet, I have provided an improved device of this character which comprises, in a general way, a plurality of independently-acting yielding fabric-engaging means which are designated herein, respectively, as the main clamping means, or presser-foot proper andthe supplemental or auxiliary clamping means, whereby on the feeding ofmaterial of varying thickness the main clamping means will engage the thickest part thereof, while the supplemental clamping means will bear against the thin part or parts of the fabric and thus prevent the upward movement of the same during the operation of the machine.-

Inthe drawings the main clamping means is designated generally byA and the supplemental clamping means by B, and said supplemental clamping means oomprehends independently-acting yielding devices so combined and arranged with relation to the main clamping means that the presser-foot in opv eration includes a plurality of independentlyacting yielding means adapted to engage varying thicknesses of material and to clamp the same thoroughly on the throat-plate, whereby upward movement of such material is positively prevented.

In' constructing -my presser-foot it is obvious and will be understood that the main clamping device or presser-foot proper may be of any required form and that the supplemental clamping means may, in the broader feature of the invention, be secured thereto at opposite ends in any desired way and may be of a different construction than that illustrated, said main presser-foot being, as usual, spring-actuated in one direction in'order to obtain a proper clamping action.

As the improved presser-foot may be used- Ico with various forms of sewing-machines, so much only of an ordinary sewing-machine as is necessary to illustrate the working of the device is illustrated, and the features shown comprise the usual throat-plate 5, having a needle-aperture 6 and provided with slots 7 for the dogs 8 of the feed mechanism, said slots forming throat-plate bars 7, a part of a rotatable loop-taker or shuttle 9 being also represented by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2.

In the form of presser-foot shown4 in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, the main presser-foot 10, which in this instance is shown as a bifurcated foot having two parallel extending bars 12 and 13, forming a needle-opening 14, has each of said bars provided with a longitudinal recess 15, terminating at one end in a longitudinal slot 16, extending through the presser-foot and also terminating at its opposite end in the furcated portion 17, having an offset or recess 1S, and through which portion extends a pivot or stud 19, which may be removable or not, as desired.

A pair of springs 20 and 21, secured one at each end of the presser-foot, are shown as having eyes at their rear ends through which the pivot or stud 19 is passed, and each spring is provided with a short downward extension 19', which engages the offset or shoulder 18 of the main presser-foot and acts by its resiliency to hold the spring presser-foot in place. The shank of each of these springs is designated by 22 and is seated in a longitudinal recess 15 of the main presser-foot. At its free end each spring is bowed or curved and extends downward through the slot 16 in the presser-foot. As will be obvious, the springs are mounted on the studs 19 at opposite ends of the presser-foot and project from said ends in reverse directions toward each other, their bowed orconvex portions passing through the slots 16 being preferably located in parallel planes. Each spring is preferably formed of wire, although, as is obvious, other material may be employed if deemed advisable.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the springs are secured in a position similar to that shown in the other figures, one, 23, being secured adjacent to the outer end of the main presser-foot and the other, as 24, to the inner end of the same, said main presser-foot being provided with apertures 25 and 26 for the reception of the ends of said springs, whereby the fabric-engaging portions of the springs extend through slots 27 and beneath the presser-foot to thereby bear against and clamp the work. In this form of my invention the recesses 15 are omitted, and excepting the modification in the manner of securing the springs in place the mode of operation of said springs is precisely the same as in the other views illustrated. l

In the operation of the device when a thick part or seam of the fabric passes into position beneath both the supplemental clamping means B and the main clamping means or presser-foot proper, A, it is obvious, as shown in Fig. 1, that the supplemental clamping devices will act upon a thinner part of the fabric and prevent the same from upward movement until the seam or fold has passed beneath the device, thereby holding the fabric firmly in lposition on the throatplate.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the fabric is at all times held firmly against the throat-plate and the feed-dogs adjacent to the path of the needle and that when the main presser-foot is in engagement with the thicker or seam part of the fabric the supplemental clamping devices will always engage the relatively thin part, and thus hold the work in position firmly to permit the formation of the loop.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. A presser foot having supplemental clamping means secured thereto and comprising a pair of independent springs, one sceurcd at the inner end and the other at the outer end of said foot, and each spring havin ga part thereof extending through said foot to engage work of varying thickness.

2. A presser-foot having a longitudinal recess at each end thereof terminating in a slot at or about the middle of said presser-foot, in combination with springs, one secured at each end of the presser-foot and each having a straight portion or shank fitted in the longitudinal recess, and a convex or bowed portion at its free end working in the slot and normally extending below the lower wall of the presser-foot.

A presser-foot having a bifurcated end, an offset or recess adjacent thereto, and a cross stud or pin, said foot also having a longitudinal slot; and a spring bent around said stud and having one end thereof in enga gement with the wall of said offset or recess, and a part thereof extending through said slot to engage work of varying thickness.

4. A presser-foot having a series of parallel slots and a series of independent yielding devices secured at the inner and outer ends of said presser-foot and at the upper side thereof, and each of said devices having a part thereof curved to project through one of said slots, whereby said devices will be in position to engage work of varying thickness simultaneously with or independently of the presser-foot proper.

HUBERT l?. RICHARDS. lVitnesses:

FRED. J. DOLE, BENTON T. PARKER.

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